Greenland Shark
The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), also known as the sleeper shark, gurry shark, ground shark, grey shark, or by the Inuit languages name Eqalussuaq, is a large shark native to the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean around Greenland and Iceland. These sharks live farther north than any other shark species. They are closely related to the Pacific sleeper shark. This is one of the largest species of shark, of dimensions comparable to those of the great white shark. Large Greenland sharks grow to 6.4 metres (21 ft) and 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb), and possibly up to 7.3 metres (24 ft) and more than 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb). However, most greenland sharks observed have been around 3–4.8 metres (9.8–15.7 ft) long and weigh up to 400 kilograms (880 lb). It rivals the Pacific sleeper shark (possibly up to 7 m or 23 ft long) as the largest species in the family Somniosidae. There are no reliable data on their life span, but fully grown Greenland sharks have been recaptured 16 years after being tagged. Lifestyle The Greenland shark is an apex predator mostly eating fish, though it may also prey on marine mammals such as seals. Bite marks on dead seals at Sable Island, Nova Scotia and Hawarden suggest that this shark may be a major predator for them in the winter months. Greenland sharks have also been found with remains of polar bear and reindeer in their stomachs. The greenland shark is also known to be a scavenger but to what extent carrion (almost certainly the origin of the reindeer) figures into the slow-moving fish's stomach contents is unknown. The shark is colonized by the parasitic copepod Ommatokoita elongata that eats the shark's corneal tissue. The Shark occupies what tends to be a very deep environment seeking its preferable cold water (-0.6 to + 10 °C) habitat. It has been observed at depths of 2200m by a submersible investigating the wreck of the SS Central America. Reproduction As recently as 1957 it was found that the females do not deposit eggs in the bottom ooze, but retain the developing embryos within their bodies so that they are born alive after an undetermined gestation period. 10 pups per litter is the norm, each measuring some 90 centimetres in length. Dentition When feeding on large carcasses, the shark employs a rolling motion of its jaw. The teeth of the upper jaw act as anchor while the lower jaw does the cutting. Teeth in the two halves of the lower jaw are strongly pitched in opposite directions. Research The Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group (GEERG) has been studying the Greenland shark in the Saguenay Fjord and St. Lawrence Estuary since 2001. The Greenland shark has repeatedly been documented (captured or washed ashore) in the Saguenay since at least 1888. Accidental captures and strandings have also been recorded in the St. Lawrence Estuary for over a century. Current research conducted by GEERG involves the study of the behaviour of the Greenland shark by observing it underwater using scuba and video equipment and by placing acoustic and satellite tags (telemetry) on live specimens; however, overall very little is known about this mysterious species. There is now an argument suggesting that the Greenland shark is responsible for 'Seal Ripping' attacks on grey seals. These attacks cause a corkscrew pattern of cuts and tears which spiral around a seal's body, following the grain of the collagen within the muscles and running at 45 degrees to the seal's body. Seal deaths have been occurring over larger territories, including the north and east coasts of the UK, which suggests that the Greenland may be moving beyond its traditional habitat range. However, recent research into the UK "corkscrew" seal deaths by the Sea Mammal Research Unit concluded that the UK seal deaths were unlikely to have been caused by predation from the Greenland shark, rather being caused by blunt mechanical trauma "consistent with the seals being drawn through a ducted propeller" that are found on many ships. Category:Saltwater Fish Category:Fish Category:Vertebrates Category:Chordata Category:Rays & Sharks